Kai Li

Immune recognition is the process by which the immune system distinguishes self from non-self or aberrant self entities. Our lab has previously developed PhagoPL , an innovative proteomic platform for studying the composition of phagosomes (Li et al., Nature 2024). Future work of our lab will focus on the progressive expansion and refinement of this technique, alongside the integration of other cutting-edge tools, to uncover the mechanisms of innate immune recognition in infection, autoimmunity, and tumorigenesis. Innate Immunity, Immune Recognition, Phagocytosis, Proximity Labeling, Host-Microbe Interaction

[2024] Profiling phagosome proteins identifies PD-L1 as a fungal-binding receptor. Li, Kai; Chatterjee, Avradip; Qian, Chen; Lagree, Katherine; Wang, Yang; Becker, Courtney A; Freeman, Michael R; Murali, Ramachandran; Yang, Wei; Underhill, David M Nature 2024 Jun;630(8017):736-743 [2024] Sex-dependent interactions between prodromal intestinal inflammation and LRRK2 G2019S in mice promote endophenotypes of Parkinson's disease. Fang, Ping; Yu, Lewis W; Espey, Hannah; Agirman, Gulistan; Kazmi, Sabeen A; Li, Kai; Deng, Yongning; Lee, Jamie; Hrncir, Haley; Romero-Lopez, Arlene; Arnold, Arthur P; Hsiao, Elaine Y Communications biology 2024 May;7(1):570 [2025] Phagocytosis: a process that shapes immune responses to engulfed meals. Li, Kai; Underhill, David M Nature reviews. Immunology 2025 Oct;